Sebastián Marroquín: From Cartel Legacy to Architect of Peace Sebastián Marroquín, the son of notorious Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, spent his formative years in the shadow of his father’s violent empire. Born Juan Pablo Escobar Henao on February 24, 1977, he grew up in Medellín, where his father’s Medellín Cartel dominated the cocaine trade during the 1980s and early 1990s. The family resided on Hacienda Nápoles, a sprawling estate featuring a private zoo with exotic animals, but their lives were marked by constant danger. Armed guards, known as sicarios, protected the family, and young Juan Pablo often faced fear and isolation as other children avoided associating with the son of a criminal. Despite the wealth—luxurious trips to Disney World and extravagant parties—Juan Pablo’s childhood was shaped by the violence of his father’s operations. At age 14, he once asked his father on television about the human cost of cartel violence, prompting Escobar to call him “my 14-year-old pacifist son.” The boy’s curiosity and desire for normalcy contrasted with the brutality surrounding him. Bodyguards even acted as nannies, further entrenching his life in secrecy and danger. The family’s world collapsed on December 2, 1993, when Pablo Escobar was killed in a shootout with police. His 16-year-old son, along with his mother and sister, faced immediate threats from rival cartels and government forces. Forced to flee Colombia, the family embarked on a perilous journey. They left in an armored car following Escobar’s funeral, briefly staying in Mozambique before settling in Argentina. There, they entered a witness-protection-style program, adopting new identities to evade persecution.#medelln #pablo_escobar #sebastin_marroqun #hacienda_npoles #university_of_palermo
